Although a lifetime UK Conservative Party voter, I’m disappointed in Theresa May and her political leadership. For me, she has been strong on rhetoric and light on coordinated policy and weak on strategy.

Now we can read Theresa May’s political offering in the much awaited Conservative Party Manifesto. It seeks to widen the appeal of Theresa May with motherhood promises and distance itself from the ‘nastiness of Conservative Party’ perceived by many. May is appealing with ‘Trust Me’ campaigns. Perhaps, she’s trying to emulate Germany’s Angela Merkel, who has campaigned with ‘Angela knows best’. But Angela Merkel has delivered for many German citizens and May is untested as a political leader – in particular, her position on Brexit is deeply disturbing.

But decide for yourself, read the Conservative Party Manifesto. I’m sure you will agree with me that it’s full of motherhood statements but weak on policy and strategy. It’s full of waffle to widen Theresa May’s appeal but light on detail. I look for the quality of the evidence and it’s missing. I would like to see bottom-up costings to support major policies and independent risk assessment and mitigation.

In the end, it will not be about the deliverables from the Conservatives but the risk of the alternatives. Expect deeply negative campaigning, with newspapers editors playing the tune of their owners.

Regular readers of the blog will be familiar with my political views. I’m a one-nation conservative. I believe passionately in individualism but with effective social nets to protect the weak and underprivileged. For me, The Conservative Party Manifesto 2017 is a sham. It’s designed to increase the number of Conservatives MPs and reduce Theresa May’s dependence on the right-wing of her party. I fear that once May is elected, The Conservative Party Manifesto 2017 will quickly gather dust and be forgotten.

This leads me to an open question:

Will Theresa May’s political strategy of appealing to voters from other parties lose her traditional Conservative Party voters?